Chapter 24 Chapter 24

Gu Xing Shi, who had done a good deed, kept a low profile and returned to Dunhai City.

But as soon as he returned, he noticed something was amiss.

Everyone seemed anxious, but the next ranking announcement was still two days away. It wasn't time to start worrying yet.

Hearing his question, Yin He Feng sighed, "I don't know whether to envy your incredible lack of awareness."

Gu Xing Shi: "???"

Yin He Feng: "Didn't you notice that the anxious ones are the larger, more established agencies?"

Gu Xing Shi took a closer look and realized it was true.

In recent years, the idol selection shows had boomed, and besides the agencies already in the idol business, many traditional agencies had also started cultivating their trainees, wanting a piece of the pie.

Yin He Feng whispered, "Do you know that Guangyi's boss, Cao Guangli, was arrested?"

Gu Xing Shi: "Ah?"

The system promptly appeared: [Yes, after Liang Wenjun discovered problems with the company's contracts, she immediately suppressed the news and called the police. The police found that Cao Guangli had secretly transferred assets and immediately arrested him. Incidentally, his mistress, Ji Yuhe, and their illegitimate son, Ji Yiwei, were also arrested.]

Yin He Feng said, "In short, this is a big deal. The police followed the clues and unearthed more information, causing a stir above. They say they're going to strictly investigate yin-yang contracts in the entertainment industry."

"You know, it wasn't so strictly controlled before, and such things were quite common, especially in those older agencies. Everyone turned a blind eye. Who knew Cao Guangli would stir up a hornet's nest, causing an earthquake in the entertainment industry, and many companies were implicated. Now everyone's cursing him!"

Yin He Feng wasn't worried.

From its inception, Xingchen Century had been strict in this area, and they were even mocked by their peers for being inflexible. Now, they could finally hold their heads high.

As for Gu Xing Shi, there was even less to worry about.

After all, Le Shi only had two artists, both still unsigned, so they didn't even have a chance to be involved.

However, Yin He Feng still quietly reminded Gu Xing Shi: "Keep a low profile recently. These companies have suffered heavy losses and resent the mysterious '10086' who exposed this. But they can't find out who that person is, so they might take out their anger on you."

Gu Xing Shi gave an "OK" gesture.

To be honest, he hadn't expected this butterfly effect to create such a huge storm. He had simply been disgusted by Cao Guangli's actions and wanted to help Liang Wenjun in a fit of righteous indignation.

But Yin He Feng's words made sense. He decided to stay away from other agencies, avoiding them as much as possible to prevent resentment.

Gu Xing Shi secretly went to Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin's dorm.

They were discussing details for their next performance. Seeing Gu Xing Shi mysteriously beckoning them from the doorway, they went out, somewhat puzzled.

Gu Xing Shi took them to a corner, looked around cautiously, and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Cheng Xin: "Manager Gu, what are you doing, acting sneaky like a thief?"

Gu Xing Shi: "…"

He glared at Cheng Xin, "You don't understand. I'm doing this for our safety!"

He told them about the earthquake in the entertainment industry and secretly pulled out the contract for "Angry Sea".

Their eyes widened.

Gu Xing Shi had discussed it with them beforehand, but everyone knew that the film industry generally looked down upon the idol industry, especially unsigned idols like them, who were at the very bottom.

So when Gu Xing Shi had suggested competing for the promotional song for "跋山涉水" (跋山涉水 - roughly translates to "Across Mountains and Rivers"), even with their trust in his abilities, they hadn't dared to hope for much.

This was director Xu Cheng's film!

He usually collaborated with top musicians in the industry, people they could only dream of working with.

Unexpectedly, Gu Xing Shi actually did it!

If not for the contract, they would have thought Gu Xing Shi was joking.

Faced with their awestruck gazes, even Gu Xing Shi felt a little embarrassed, and coughed lightly: "The film's promotional period hasn't started yet. According to the contract, we need to keep it secret."

They nodded repeatedly, still dazed.

Gu Xing Shi quickly said, "Keep it low-key! Your expressions are too provocative. I'm afraid you'll be ambushed if you go out!"

They immediately suppressed their elated expressions and solemnly replied, "Manager Gu is right!"

In the next two days, the other trainees noticed that Meng and Cheng had become much more reserved, except during performances.

Even when other trainees showed off their advertising resources, they remained calm.

In fact, other trainees had been getting various resources recently, some even landing big-name endorsements.

Meng and Cheng were also a little envious and disappointed.

However, seeing the "Angry Sea" contract, all that was instantly soothed.

What were advertisements compared to this?

"Angry Sea" was about to become the promotional song for "Across Mountains and Rivers".

The trainees who had been showing off: "…"

Damn! So anticlimactic!

However, this calmness was misinterpreted by their fans.

[What's going on! Even the lower-ranked trainees have resources, but my idol is at the top in popularity, why doesn't he have any?!]

[I'm so angry! Because they don't have any resources, people are mocking them online, saying their popularity is fake!]

[I heard that the idol is signed to a small company, is the company not doing well?]

[I heard a rumor that many advertising resources reached out to them, but the manager of Le Shi was arrogant and pretentious, driving them away. This even included brand XX.]

[Wow!!! XX is an international brand!! I can't believe it, is this company crazy!]

[I can accept that a small company might not be professional, but this is rare. We don't ask for much, just do something, don't hinder Shengbao and Xinge's careers!]

[Small companies are like this, to be honest, it's better to sign with the '10086' boss! At least the boss cares about our idols!]

[Good idea!!!]

[Support '10086' boss to sign them!!]

…

These comments spread like wildfire, especially after the next ranking announcement. Meng Yuan Sheng remained at the top, but it wasn't a landslide victory; the gap with second place was narrow. Cheng Xin fell to third place, replaced by Yuan Ye in second.

Cheng Xin was a little disappointed to see the rankings.

However, he also knew that as the competition entered its middle stages, other fandoms were stepping up their efforts. Yuan Ye's performance in the last round was spectacular, so it was well-deserved that he reached second place.

So, he was down for a little while, then recovered and went to the live stream with Meng Yuan Sheng.

But when he saw the comments, he was stunned.

The fans were furious, and the comments were full of sympathy for their unfair treatment and demands for them to leave Le Shi.

Cheng Xin stuttered, "I didn't… I wasn't wronged!"

His ranking drop was because he didn't perform to his full potential. What did it have to do with the company or Manager Gu?!

Meng Yuan Sheng also tried to explain: "Manager Gu is really good to us. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have been able to participate in 'Boy Group Training Camp'. He's really helped us a lot…"

If not for the confidentiality agreement, he would have told his fans that Manager Gu had even secured them the promotional song for "Across Mountains and Rivers." He really wasn't wronged at all!

However—

Fans: [Waaaa, were you threatened! Idol is so pitiful!]

[I heard that these small companies set high penalty clauses. They don't want to manage artists well, they just cast a wide net. If one of them explodes in popularity, they make them do things they don't want to do, forcing them to terminate their contracts to earn penalty fees, squeezing every ounce out of their artists.]

Meng Yuan Sheng: "…That's not true! Cheng Xin and I have very lenient contracts, it's not what you think!"

Fans: [Idol, don't talk! We know you're helpless now, we understand!]

[Idol, blink if you're kidnapped!]

Cheng Xin: "…I'm not helpless… Okay! Stop counting my blinks! Blinking is a human physiological reflex, not some kidnapping signal!"

Fans: [Signal!! Got it! Keyword get √]

[Idol's first song in the performance was xxx, the second song was xxxx… recombine the first letters…]

Meng and Cheng: "!!!"

Please, stop your magic tricks!!

After the live stream, both of them were exhausted.

As soon as it ended, they went to find Gu Xing Shi.

Meng Yuan Sheng, having been an assistant, keenly sensed something was wrong with the fans' behavior: "Manager Gu, I think someone is stirring up trouble."

Gu Xing Shi wasn't surprised.

He had seen the fans' comments.

At first, seeing the overwhelming barrage of insults, he felt angry and wronged. But as things got more and more absurd, he slowly stopped feeling angry.

Especially when he saw fans suggesting that the '10086' boss step in and deal with him and Le Shi, he found it both funny and frustrating.

What was this?

Self-sabotage?

After calming down, he did see some comments that were clearly stirring the pot.

They were promoting other companies as being good to their artists, hoping Meng and Cheng would join them.

System: [These companies indeed orchestrated this. They had resources but their artists weren't performing well, so they set their sights on Meng and Cheng, trying to drive a wedge between you to take advantage.]

Gu Xing Shi: […Poaching? Such simple and unadorned business tactics!]

System: [Of course, other companies are also fueling the fire, including those brands you rejected earlier.]

Gu Xing Shi: [… ]

He had too many enemies to deal with all at once, so he'd just add them to his list.

But revenge aside, many fans were genuinely worried, and he had read their comments.

He had only briefly mentioned the advertising resources to Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin, thinking it was unimportant and not wanting to interrupt their training and rest.

But now, he explained in detail why he rejected those brands.

Although Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin didn't know how Gu Xing Shi knew so much, they saw his dedication.

They didn't hesitate: "Manager Gu, you decide. We trust you!"

Gu Xing Shi had more to say, but their unwavering trust made him feel it wasn't necessary.

He nodded firmly at them: "You can rest assured, I'll solve this!"

-

Zuo Hang was a manager at Xingmao Company, which was under Xingmao Media, mainly responsible for idols.

But the company had been around for two or three years, and its artists were mediocre, always acting as cannon fodder in idol shows, making Zuo Hang anxious.

However, good trainees were hard to find, so Zuo Hang set his sights on poaching from other companies.

This time, he had his eye on Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin from "Boy Group Training Camp," especially Meng Yuan Sheng.

He could sing, dance, was handsome, and could compose. What manager wouldn't want such a good trainee?!

More importantly, he came from a small company, and Zuo Hang was an expert at dealing with such trainees.

However, his unfailing track record failed for the first time with Meng and Cheng.

Zuo Hang thought they didn't know Xingmao's strength, so he brought up Xingmao Media, but they remained unmoved.

Zuo Hang thought they were trying to inflate their price, but after several attempts, he realized they genuinely didn't want to leave that small company.

Zuo Hang was speechless.

It was just a company, not their parents, were they that loyal?!

Seeing that they couldn't be persuaded, he didn't give up, trying a different tactic.

He infiltrated their fan groups, pretending to be concerned and badmouthing Le Shi.

Unexpectedly, he hooked a few rival companies.

Zuo Hang: "…"

Rival Companies: "…"

Wow, everyone's business tactics were so simple and unadorned.

But now wasn't the time to think about that. The most important thing was to break up Meng and Cheng from Le Shi.

They reached an agreement and started to stir up trouble in various groups.

Their rhetoric was more than the simple fans could handle, quickly igniting anger, making them feel that Le Shi was mistreating their idols.

The plan went smoothly. Meng and Cheng emphasized in the live stream that the company was good to them, but Zuo Hang wasn't worried.

After all, it was true that they lacked advertising resources. Even if they believed it now, what about later?

There was no real trust between people, especially companies and artists. Either the east wind prevails or the west wind prevails.

Before, Meng and Cheng were amateurs and had to rely on the company. But now they had popularity and a super hacker among their die-hard fans. Their mentality might change.

Zuo Hang was confident.

But while they were stirring up trouble, some rational fans were trying to maintain order and calm everyone down.

Qiao Ruoyao was one of them.

She used to be the type of fan who was easily swayed and impulsive.

But since her idol's scandal, she had become a fan of Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin and decided to think things through.

This time, she almost fell for it, but she calmed down, pacing back and forth in her dorm room before realizing something was wrong.

So she quickly advised in the group: [Sisters, Shengbao said in the live stream that the company is very good to them, we should listen to them, give them some time.]

Zuo Hang didn't expect someone to disrupt his plan, frowned, and replied neutrally: [That's because the idol is kind, he keeps his suffering to himself. Because of this, we can't let them suffer! What use are we fans otherwise!]

Qiao Ruoyao was angry and anxious. But the other party was too good at talking; she couldn't win. She was always led astray.

But while arguing, she noticed a problem.

Since she was in both Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin's fan groups, she noticed that the messages were all from one person, with the same content, just changing the names.

Various conspiracies flashed through her mind.

She quickly took screenshots of the two messages and posted them in the group.

Xiao Qiao Yao Ah Yao: [Sisters! Calm down, this person posted this in both fan groups, there must be a conspiracy!]

Zuo Hang didn't expect to be exposed, but he was prepared. He retorted: [Who doesn't know Shengbao and Xinge have a good relationship? I'm a double stan. You saw my message, aren't you a double stan? Or are you a spy sent by the company, lurking in the group?]

Qiao Ruoyao didn't expect him to turn the tables, she was furious.

But she had to stay calm and not be led astray, continuing to persuade other fans.

However, she couldn't compare to Zuo Hang in this. In a few words, she was isolated and labeled as Le Shi's lackey.

[Fake fan, if you really liked them, wouldn't you feel sorry for them?]

[How much did the company pay you? Give us the account, let's all earn together!]

Qiao Ruoyao was speechless and almost cried.

At this moment, an account suddenly posted: [@Xiao Qiao Yao Ah Yao, I believe you.]

Qiao Ruoyao was almost driven to despair, seeing someone support her, tears almost fell. When she saw the name, she was stunned.

Ran Ran Took Photos Today?

Wasn't this the fan who always posted stunning photos?!

Moreover, when Shengbao was wronged before, she steadfastly believed in him and spoke up for him in the group. Plus her stunning photos, she had a high status in the fandom.

Therefore, as soon as she spoke, the fans who were arguing stopped.

Bai Ran went to follow Shen Yu's schedule tonight and didn't watch the live stream. When she got home, she learned about the incident.

She had been in the fandom for many years, seeing through such tricks instantly.

She was more influential than Qiao Ruoyao. After a thorough analysis, many fans calmed down.

Regardless, the competition wasn't over. If Meng and Cheng had a falling out with the agency, it wouldn't be good.

However, there were rational and irrational fans.

Some didn't buy Bai Ran's words, aggressively asking: [How can you be sure the company didn't bully them?]

Bai Ran thought for a moment, replying: [I've met him, he's not that kind of person.]

She said, bringing out a photo of the three of them.

This was before the competition, when she met them at the airport. She thought they were handsome and took a picture, even getting their autographs.

She uploaded the photo and the autographs.

Ran Ran Took Photos Today: [This photo shows how good their relationship is! And if any sisters follow Shengbao's commute, you'll recognize the guy who always walks beside them, carrying their water and bags. He does so much for them, and yet some people suspect him of being bad to them?]

After she finished, the group fell silent.

After a long time, someone replied: [This… is the manager??]

This sentence seemed to flip a switch, and the group instantly exploded.

[Wow!!! I've seen this guy! He wore a mask, but his eyes were super beautiful and gentle, he thanked me, I thought he was a trainee!!]

[I remember, during the last live stream, someone handed Shengbao water from behind the camera, the hands were super beautiful, many people asked if it was a staff member, Shengbao proudly said it was his manager.]

[Yes, yes, I remember too, I even said that it was a waste for such a handsome guy to have such beautiful hands. Now I want to slap my past self.]

…

After a heated discussion, someone cautiously said: [This guy doesn't look like a bad person, maybe he has some difficulties…]

[Yeah, we're being so fierce, won't we scare him?]

[That's right! We should believe in our idols! They definitely have good judgment, let's give the manager some time.]

[I checked the company information, his name is Gu Xing Shi, what a beautiful name! Sounds like a kind person.]

[Another reason to join the idol's company.]

[+1, If my boss looked like that, I'd work for him for free.]

Zuo Hang: [???]

You appearance-obsessed people, stop it!!!

That night, the photos spread throughout Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin's fan groups.

The previously chaotic fan groups calmed down, those who were doing data did data, those who were editing videos edited videos, as if they had instantly calmed down.

The chaos vanished without a trace.

The other companies that were preparing to increase their efforts: "???"

Gu Xing Shi, who was ready to reassure the fans: "???"

Meng Yuan Sheng and Cheng Xin, who were secretly determined to stand with Manager Gu against the public opinion: "…"

After a long silence.

Meng Yuan Sheng: "As expected of Manager Gu, his methods are always… emmmm, unconventional."

Cheng Xin: "Seduction is shameful, but effective."

Gu Xing Shi went crazy: "It wasn't me! Don't look at me like that! Let me explain!!"